Arch-bar truck.



F. DITGHFIELD.

ARCH BAR TRUCK. APPLICATION FILED APR.18, 1914.

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FRANK DITCHFIELD, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

ARCH-BAR TRUCK.

Specification of Letters I'atent.

PatentedFeb. 2, 1915.

Application filed April 18, 191i. Serial No. 832,988.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK DITCHFIELD, a citizen of the Dominion ofCanada, and resident of the city of Montreahin the Province of Quebecand Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Arch-Bar Trucks, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in arch bar trucks, and moreparticularly to the columns used in these trucks to space the upper andlower arch bars apart and form guides for the bolster ends.

The object of the invention is to produce a column of absolute rigiditywhich will securely hold the arch bars without'the use of column bolts.

A further object is to provide a column conforming to existingstandards, so that the same may be applied to either new or old truckswithout making any change.

A still further object is to provide a column which may be easily andquickly applied either to new or old trucks or to existing trucks as anemergency repair part.

At the present time, by far the greater number of arch bar trucks in useare provided at the center with a pair of columns clamped between thetop and bottom arch bars by column bolts passing through the arch barsand the columns, these bolts being secured by nuts which wear loose incomparatively short time,'so that the stiffness and rigidity whichshould be imparted to the truc'k by the'columns is lost, and a constantworking between the parts of the truck results, which very soon destroys-the truck. The present invention aims to overcome these disadvantagesby providing a column securable to the arch bars without the use ofcolumn bolts in such a manner that the columns will not wear loose andrattle, but will always remain rigid, imparting the necessary support tothe truck side frame.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention :Figure 1 is a sideelevation of an arch bar truck showing my improved column in position.Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the column. Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional View on the line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. at is a cross sectional Viewon the line 4i, Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5, 6 and 7 represent thetop and bottom arch bars and tie bar respectively of a truck side frame.The columns 8 are secured between the top and bottom arch bars onopposite sides of the spring plank 9 to which they are attached, andform guides for the bolster 10.

bars is maintained not by the small amount of metal representing thethreads of a pair of nuts, but by the entire mass of metal of thecolumns themselves.

Each column comprises an outer half 11 and an inner half 12, which areexactly similar except that the inner half 12 may be provided with anintegral arm 12*, for the attachment of a brake head hanger. Each halfof the column is substantially of channel or Usection, the two halvesbeing secured together by rivets or bolts 13, passing through the webs14 of the members, so that the finished column is of Hsection, asclearly shown in Fig. 4. The webs of both the inner and outer halves areformed at top and bottom to provide pockets l5 and 16 for the top andbottom arch bars, these pockets being formed half in the outer and halfin the inner column members, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The flanges 17of the members follow the line of the web, so that the pocket portion isas strongly supported as any other portion. The arch bars of existingtrucks are provided with holes for the passage of column bolts, and itis therefore convenient to utilize these holes for the purpose ofholding the columns against movement along the arch bars. To this end,pockets 18 are formed in the top and bottom of the column, half in onemember and half in the other, and intersecting the pockets 15 and 16.When the column is applied, short pins 19 are passed through the boltholes of the arch bars, and are received in the pockets 18. The tendencyto movement between the arch bars and columns is in the same plane asthe parting 20 between the column members, so that the stress thrown onthe column through the pins 19 does not fall to any appreciable extenton the rivets, but is distributed to the two column members equally, asthe pin and r 22 and enlarged to form lugs 23 in the same plane as theedges of the ribs, which may be bolted or riveted to the spring plank 9.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the upper and lowerarch bars pass actually through the columns, so that the fixed relationbetween these columns is maintained not by columns and column bolts, asin the ordinary truck, but by the columns themselves without the use ofbolts, which rapidly wear loose and permit rattling and working betweenthe parts. The column may be applied to new or old trucks without anychange whatever in the structure of the truck. The column instead ofmerely abutting the arch bars at its ends, as in the ordinary type,completely surrounds the arch bars, so that the bars are held againstmovement toward or away from each other and in a lateral direction. Thepins shrouded in the column hold the bars against longitudinal movement.The cross section of the columns provides a maximum of strength with aminimum weight of metal. The arch bar pockets are formed in depthslightly less than half the width of the arch bars, so that when thecolumn members are riveted together, there will be a very slightclearance or parting between the two members, which causes the wholetension of the rivets to clamp the members tightly around the arch bars.The upper and lower surfaces of the arch bars being engaged by thecolumn, it is obvious that the connection is much more rigid and securethan when the columns engage only one side of the bars. The columncannot work loose except by wear of the large surfaces bearing againstthe arch bars. The column bolts which wear loose and permit rattling andracking of the frame are eliminated.

In new trucks, the columns are clamped in place, as already described,around pins passed through the arch bars, while in existing trucks, thecolumns are applied in the same way, the old column bolts being cut upif desired to form the pins. As an emergency repair part, the column isparticularly useful, bolts being used in place of rivets. The two partsmay be clamped around the arch bars without taking down any part of thetruck side frame, whereas ordinary columns cannot always be insertedwithout loosening up the arch bars. While the description and drawingsrefer only to a pin passing through the arch bars and shrouded in thecolumn, it is obvious that where the arch bars are provided with certaindeformations replacing the pins, such as bosses, offsets or notches, thecolumn parts may be formed to correspond therewith without departingfrom the spirit of this invention, such modifications being dependent onthe form of arch bar with which the column is designed to be used. Thus,the columns may be provided with internal ribs or separate pins toengage notches in arch bars which have been thus formed for cooperationwith other special columns, or specially shaped pockets may be formed inthe column parts to receive variously deformed arch bars, for the reasonthat all these modifications are not modifications of the primary ideaof clamping a two part column around the arch bars, but merely of theshaping of the column parts to receive the arch bars.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A truck columnapertured at its upper and lower ends for the passage of the arch bars,and separate pins for the upper and lower arch bars shrounded in thecolumn holding the bars against longitudinal movement.

2. A truck column comprising a pair of parts secured together andembracing the upper and lower arch bars and tie bars between them, andpins-shrouded in said column passing through the arch bars and holdingthe same against longitudinal movement.

3. A truck column comprising two parts secured together around a truckside frame and completely embracing the upper and lower arch bars andtie bars thereof, and pockets formed in said column parts for thereception of projections on the arch bar portions passing through thecolumn.

4. A truck column comprising a pair of substantially similar channelshaped portions each having a pocket therein for approximately one-halfthe width of the upper and lower arch bars, and pockets there inintersecting the bar pockets for the relcleption of pins or projectionson the arch ars.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

Y FRANK DITCHFIELD.

Witnesses:

S. R. W. ALLEN, G. M. MORELAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

